Easy loading camera

ABSTRACT

A film magazine receiving chamber forming member is provided in a camera body for forming a film magazine receiving chamber which opens toward the bottom face of the body and is shaped to permit insertion of a film magazine thereinto only in one axial direction of the magazine through the opening. The camera is further provided with a film leader guiding means for guiding the film leader of the magazine to extend in a suitable direction when the magazine is inserted into the film magazine receiving chamber, and a film leader cutting means disposed on the side of the film aperture opposite to the film magazine receiving chamber.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an easy loading camera, and more particularlyto a 35 mm camera improved to facilitate loading of a film magazine.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Various attempts have been made to facilitate loading of the filmmagazine into a camera. For example, in Japanese Unexamined PatentPublication No. 55(1980)-143549 there is disclosed an easy loadingcamera in which a film magazine receiving chamber body is provided to beexposed outside the camera body when the back lid of the camera isopened and the film magazine is inserted into the film magazinereceiving chamber by being axially moved through an opening formed inthe bottom face of the chamber body. In this easy loading camera, thechamber body is arranged so that the film magazine can be inserted intothe film magazine receiving chamber only in one direction and means isprovided for guiding the film leader in order to assure that the filmleader is automatically set in the correct position by simply insertingthe magazine into the film receiving chamber and closing the back lid.The easy loading camera is further provided with cutting means which isactuated when the back lid is closed to cut the front end portion of thefilm leader in case that the film leader is too long. However, the easyloading camera is disadvantageous in that the structure of the camerabody becomes complicated since in addition to the chamber body it isnecessary to add various movable parts such as parts for locking thechamber body in place, for example.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an easyloading loading camera which is simplified in structure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an easy loadingcamera in which the film magazine can be easily loaded irrespective ofthe length of its film leader.

The easy loading camera of the present invention comprises a filmmagazine receiving chamber forming member provided in the camera bodyfor forming therein a film magazine receiving chamber arranged to permitinsertion of a film magazine only in one axial direction thereof throughan opening in the bottom face of the chamber forming member, a filmleader guiding means for guiding the film leader of the film magazine toextend in a suitable direction when the film magazine is inserted intothe film magazine receiving chamber, and a film leader cutting meansdisposed on the side of the film aperture opposite to the film magazinereceiving chamber.

In the easy loading camera of the present invention, the film leader iscaused to extend along the film feeding path and take a positionsuitable for feeding of the film by the film leading guiding means. Oncethe film leader takes the proper position, the film leader can byautomatically wound around the film take-up spool by a winding-upoperation conducted by a known film feeding means which engages with theperforations of the film leader and a known automatic film windingmechanism.

Though the length of the film leader projecting outside the filmmagazine differs from manufacturer to mamufacturer, generally it is suchthat its leading end does not reach the film take-up chamber when themagazine is received in the film magazine receiving chamber. In casethat the film leader is long enough to reach the film take-up chamber,the cutting means cuts the film leader to a length suitable forautomatically winding it around the film take-up spool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an easy loading camera in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention in the inverted positionwith the back lid thereof opened,

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but partly broken away,

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view showing a part of the camera of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view showing another part of the camera ofFIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a modification of the camera of FIG. 1,and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a part of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In FIG. 1 an easy loading camera 1 in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention is shown in the inverted position and a known 35mm film magazine is indicated at P. The magazine P comprises acylindrical body P1, film spool P2 and a tongue-like portion P3 whichprojects from the body P1 in a tangential direction thereof and throughwhich the film exit slit is formed. Through the film exit slit, the filmleader F of a predetermined length projects outside the body P1. Thephotographic camera 1 of this embodiment comprises a taking lens L, acamera body 2 provided with a known internal mechanism, and a back lid 4mounted on the camera body 2 by a hinge 3 near its upper surface so asto be swingable in the directions of the arrow A. On the right side (asseen in FIG. 1) of the camera body 2, there is provided a film magazinereceiving chamber 5 formed as a substantially cylindrical space openingtoward the bottom face 6 of the camera body 2. The magazine receivingchamber 5 opens at a portion of its side wall to form a slit 8 directedtoward a film feeding path formed between a pressure plate 17 and a filmaperture 9 formed in the rear face 7 of the body 2 (see FIG. 2). On theside of the aperture 9 opposite to the magazine receiving chamber 5 isformed a film take-up chamber 10. In the film take-up chamber 10 ismounted a film take-up spool 11 provided with an automatic film windingmechanism (not shown) which may be of known type. A fixed cutting blade12 is mounted behind the film take-up chamber 10. The fixed blade 12extends over the entire length of the film take-up chamber 10 andcooperates with a movable cutting blade 13 mounted on the back lid 4 tocut the leading end portion of the film leader F extending beyond thefixed blade 12 when the back lid 4 is closed. The portion of the rearface 7 of the body 2 near the bottom face 6 forms an inner guide member14 chamfered at the lower and upper edges thereof as clearly shown inFIG. 3. An outer guide member 15 extends substantially in parallel tothe inner guide member 14 slightly spaced therefrom and extends beyondthe film aperture 9. The end face 15a of the outer guide member 15adjacent to the bottom face 6 of the body 2 is substantially flush withthe edge 14a of the inner guide member 14 adjacent to the bottom face 6.The outer guide member 15 has a central opening 15b, and the pressureplate 17 is held therein supported on resilient arms 16a, 16b and 16cwhich are integral with the outer guide member 15. The pressure plate 17is provided with a recess 17a at the central portion of the lower (asseen in FIG. 1) edge thereof. A protrusion 18 is formed on the rear face7 of the body 2 below (as seen in FIG. 1) the film aperture 9 and isreceived in the recess 17a of the pressure plate 17. On the right sideof the body 2 above the film aperture 9 (as seen in FIG. 2) is disposeda film feeding device 19 having engaging pins 19a which are brought intoengagement with the perforations of the film. A tongue portion upperedge limiting member 20 is provided on the rear face 7 at about thecenter of the body 2 in the direction of its height near the magazinereceiving chamber 5. A releasing member 21 projects toward the outerguide member 15 below the tongue portion upper edge limiting member 20(as seen in FIG. 2). Functions of these components will be described indetail hereinbelow.

On the inner surface of the back lid 4 are disposed a pressure platepushing member 22 formed of a resilient material such as spring steeland a projection 23, which are arranged so as to abut against thepressure plate 17 and the releasing member 21, respectively, when theback lid 4 is closed. The back lid 4 is further provided near the bottomside thereof with a film leader lower edge limiting member 24 in theform of an arm made of a rigid material. The back lid 4 is arranged tobe held in the closed position by engagement between a latch member 26disposed on the bottom face 6 of the camera body 2 and an engagingmember (not shown) provided on the back lid 4. The engagement of thelatch member 26 and the engaging member can be released by sliding aslide button 25 mounted on the bottom face 6.

Said slit 8 of the magazine receiving chamber 5 communicates with thespace between the inner and outer guide members 14 and 15, i.e. the filmfeeding path, and extends in a tangential direction to the cylindricalchamber 5. A portion 5b of the wall of the chamber 5 defining the inneredge of the slit 8 projects like a peninsula. Therefore, the magazine Pcan be inserted into the chamber 5 only in a position in which therecess behind the tongue-like portion P3 engages with the peninsula-likeportion 5b. The direction of the insertion of the magazine into themagazine receiving chamber 5 is thus limited and the magazine P is heldin place by the engagement of the recess and the peninsula-like portion5b. The inner guide member 14 extends from the peninsula-like portion 5btoward the film take-up chamber 10 in parallel to the focal plane of thelens L and forms the film feeding path between itself and the outerguide member 15. When the magazine P is inserted into the magazinereceiving chamber 5, the peninsula-like portion 5b pushes the filmleader F away from the body P1 to extend in the direction of the innerguide member 14 and the lower edge (as seen in FIG. 2) of the filmleader F abuts against the edge 14a of the inner guide member 14 to bestretched therealong and thus inserted into the film feeding pathbetween the inner and outer guide members 14 and 15. Thus, even if thefilm leader F is curled around the body P1, the magazine P can easily beloaded in the camera by simply inserting the magazine P into themagazine receiving chamber 5. The bottom face 6 of the camera body 2 iselevated in height toward the extremity of the peninsula-like portion5b, and the edge 14a of the inner guide member 14 merging into thesurface 5a of the peninsula-like portion 5 facing the slit 8 extendssubstantially horizontally or extends to slope down toward the left asseen in FIG. 2. Therefore, the film leader F can be smoothly stretchedalong the surface 5a and the edge 14a. Further, since the edge 14a ofthe inner guide member 14 is chamfered and rounded as shown in FIG. 3,there is no possibility of the upper edge f1 (in FIGS. 1 and 2, thecamera body and the magazine are shown inverted) of the film leader F orthe perforations p coming opposite to the edge 14a to interfere with theinsertion of the leader F into the film feeding path. The other edge 14bof the inner guide member 14 is also chamfered and rounded in order toprevent the edge 14b from snagging the lower edge f2 or the perforationsp when the magazine P is taken out from the camera. The engaging pins19a of the film feeding device 19 are also chamfered in a similar mannerto prevent them from snagging the film leader F. Preferably, all theedges having the possibility of coming in contact with the film leader Fwhen the magazine P is loaded or taken out are chamfered. The chamferedsurfaces need not necessarily be rounded and may be planar.

The film feeding device 19 is positioned so that the engaging pins 19aare retracted inwardly from the outer surface of the inner guide member14 (the plane indicated at α in FIG. 3). Therefore, the engaging pins19a do not engage with the perforations p, upper edge f1 or the loweredge f2 of the film leader F when the magazine P is inserted into thechamber 5 or taken out therefrom.

The pressure plate 17 mounted in the central opening 15b of the outerguide member 15 is positioned so that its inner surface is flush withthe inner surface of the outer guide member 15. Therefore, the filmleader F is free from interference on the outer guide member side.

The lower surface (upper surface as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2) 18a of theprotrusion 18 received in the recess 17a of the pressure plate 17 isdisposed to abut against the upper edge f1 of the film leader F, therebykeeping the film leader F in the proper feeding position. Accordingly,even if the film leader F is drawn out from the film exit slit in thetongue-like portion p3 inclined downwardly (as reviewed in FIGS. 1 and2) with respect thereto, the film leader F cannot project beyond thesurface 18a of the protrusion 18. The protrusion 18 has sufficientheight to assure that the free end surface 18b thereof is positionedflush with the outer surface of the pressure plate 17 or outside theouter surface of the pressure plate 17 in order to prevent the filmleader F from passing between itself and the pressure plate 17.Therefore, when the film leader F is inclined with respect to the bodyP1, the upper edge f1 thereof is pushed by the lower surface 18a of theprotrusion 18 so that the film leader F takes the proper position. Ascan be seen from the above description, the protrusion 18 serves tolimit the position of the upper edge f1 of the film leader F. Theposition of the upper edge f1 of the film leader F may be limited byother means than the protrusion 18, for example, by a plurality of pinsprojecting from the rear face 7 of the camera body 2.

After the magazine P is thus inserted into the magazine receivingchamber 5 with the film leader F extending along the film feeding path,the back lid 4 is closed. As described above, the length of the filmleader F projecting outside the body P1 of the magazine P is generallysuch that the leading end of the leader F is wholly retained between theinner and outer guide members 14 and 15 when the magazine P is insertedinto the magazine receiving chamber 5. In this case, when the film isfed in a manner to be described hereinafter, the leading end of the filmleader F enters the film take-up chamber 10 by virtue of its curlingcharacteristics to be wound around the film take-up spool 11 by theautomatic winding mechanism. On the other hand, if the leader Fprojecting outside the body P1 is long enough to extend beyond the filmtake-up chamber 10, the leading end portion of the film leader Fextending beyond the chamber 19 is cut by the fixed blade 12 and themovable blade 13 when the back lid 4 is closed. Then the film leader Fcan be automatically wound around the film take-up spool 11.

As described above, when the film leader F is inclined downward asreviewed in FIG. 1 with respect to the film exit slit, the protrusion 18pushes the upper edge f1 of the film leader to correct its position tothe proper feeding position. On the other hand, when the film leader Fis inclined upward as reviewed in FIG. 1 with respect to the film exitslit, said film leader lower edge limiting member 24 pushes the loweredge f2 of the film leader F downward as seen in FIG. 1 to correct theposition of the leader F. The film leader lower edge limiting member 24is mounted on the back lid 4 and abuts against the lower edge f2 of theleader F when the back lid 4 is closed through a space 27 formed betweenthe periphery of the pressure plate 17 and the inner peripheral edge ofthe outer guide member 15 defining the central opening 15b. The filmleader lower edge limiting member 24 is positioned to abut against thelower edge f2 of the leader F near the tongue-like portion P3 of themagazine P so as not to buckle the leader F. Being in the form of a longarm, the film leader lower edge limiting member 24 can obtain access tothe film leader F before the leader F is held by the pressure plate 17or sandwiched between the fixed and movable blades 12 and 13, i.e.,while the leader F is still freely movable, whereby the leader F caneasily be moved into the proper position.

Generally the leading end portion of the film leader F is cut away toform a narrow tongue portion. In the case of a film magazine in whichonly the narrow tongue portion projects outside the body P1, the upperedge f1 of the leader F cannot reach the protrusion 18, and accordinglythe position of film leader F cannot be corrected when the film leader Fis inclined downwardly as reviewed in FIG. 1. Said tongue portion upperedge limiting member 20 is provided for correcting the position of sucha short film leader inclined downwardly as reviewed in FIG. 1. FIG. 4shows the tongue portion upper edge limiting member 20 and the mechanismassociated therewith. The tongue portion upper edge limiting member 20and the releasing member 21 are provided on a single L-shaped movablemember 28. The movable member 28 is supported by a pair of pins 30 whichare slidably received in an elongated opening 29 formed in the lever 28to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the rear face 7of the camera body 2. The movable lever 28 is urged toward the rear face7 by means of a tension spring 32 fixed to a projection 31 formedthereon. The movable lever 28 is further provided with downwardlydirected shoulder 33 having a rearwardly facing abutting surface whichis adapted to be engaged with an abutting portion 35 of a positiondetecting member 34 for detecting the position of the magazine P. Theposition detecting member 34 is pivotably supported on a pivot pin 36and is urged in the counter-clockwise direction by a spring 38 fixed toa pin 37 on the position detecting member 34. The urging force of thespring 38 is stronger than that of the spring 32, and accordingly themovable lever 28 cannot move rearwardly (rightwardly as seen in FIG. 4)when the abutting portion 35 of the position detecting member 34 abutsagainst the shoulder 33 thereof. The lower end portion of the detectingmember 34 obliquely projects into the magazine receiving chamber 5. Whenthe magazine P is inserted into the receiving chamber 5 the lower endportion of the position detecting member 34 is pushed by the lower end(as seen in FIG. 4) of the magazine P, whereby the position detectingmember 34 is pivoted in the clockwise direction overcoming the urgingforce of the spring 38. The movable lever 28 is thus permitted to moverightwardly under the force of the spring 32, whereby the tongue portionupper edge limiting member 20 on the lever 28 projects into the spacebetween the rear face 7 and the outer guide member 15 as shown by achained line in FIG. 4. The tongue portion upper edge limiting member 20is positioned so that the upper edge f3 (FIG. 1) of the narrow tongueportion of the film leader F lies on the upper surface 20a thereof whenthe film leader F is in the proper feeding position. If the short filmleader F extending through the slit 8 is inclined downwardly as reviewedin FIG. 4, the upper edge f3 of the leader F will abut against the uppersurface 20a of the tongue portion upper edge limiting member 20, wherebythe position of the leader F is corrected. When the back lid 4 is closedafter the insertion of the magazine P into the magazine receivingchamber 5, the projection 23 on the inner surface of the back lid 4pushes the releasing member 21 leftwardly as seen in FIG. 4 overcomingthe force of the spring 32, whereby the movable lever 28 movesleftwardly to retract the tongue portion upper edge limiting member 20from the space between the outer guide member 15 and the rear face 7 ofthe camera body 2. Accordingly, the film can be fed freely without beinginterfered with by the tongue portion upper edge limiting member 20after the closure of the back lid 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the positiondetecting member 34 is disposed to be brought into contact with thelower end of the magazine P at a level slightly lower than the level ofthe upper surface 20a of the tongue portion upper edge limiting member20. Accordingly, in the case of magazines having a film leader of theregular length of a longer film leader, the upper edge f1 of the filmleader F passes the upper edge limiting member 20 before it is moved toproject into the space between the rear face 7 and the outer guidemember 15. Thus, the tongue portion upper edge limiting member 20 doesnot interfere with the loading of a magazine having a leader of theregular length or a larger length.

When the magazine P is inserted into the magazine receiving chamber 5and the back lid 4 is closed, the film leader F of the magazine Pautomatically takes the proper feeding position. At the same time, thefilm leader F is pressed against a pair of rails 39 on the upper andlower sides of the film aperture 9 by the pressure plate 17 which ispushed toward the film aperture 9 by the pushing member 22 when the backlid 4 is closed. When the film leader F is pressed against the rails 39,the engaging pins 19a of the film feeding device 19 can engage with theperforations p of the leader F. Accordingly, when the film feedingdevice 19 is actuated by turning on the power switch of the camera ordepressing the shutter button, the film leader F is fed toward the filmtake-up chamber 10. When the back lid 4 is opened, the pressure plate 17is moved away from the film aperture under the resilient force of theresilient arms 16a to 16c to the original position in which its innersurface is flush with the inner surface of the outer guide member 15.

In the case of a magazine having a leader is long enough to projectoutside the camera body when the back lid is closed, the severed leadingend portion of the film leader must be drawn out from the camera bodywithout adversely affecting the light-tight shield between the camerabody 2 and the back lid 4. This can be accomplished by shielding theportion at which the camera body and the back lid contact each otherusing a teremp light shielding polyurethane foam or labyrinth seal (SeeJapanese Patent Publication No. 44(1979)-23785.).

In the above embodiment, the back lid is mounted for swinging movementabout an axis extending along the upper lateral edge of the camera body.However, this is not essential and the back lid may be mounted forswinging movement about a vertical axis on the camera body.

In order to protect the internal mechanism within the camera body fromdust and the like, it is preferred that the opening angle of the backlid be limited. Preferably, the opening angle of the back lid is limitedusing the movable cutting blade, thereby reducing the number of therequired parts.

FIG. 5 shows example of the present invention in which the opening angleof the back lid is limited using a movable cutting blade. In FIG. 5, theback lid 4 is swingable about a pivot 3a. A fixed cutting blade 12a isfixed to the camera body 2. A movable cutting blade 13a cooperating withthe fixed cutting blade 12a is pivotably mounted on the camera body 2 atone end thereof by a pivot pin 40. As shown in FIG. 6, the movablecutting blade 13a is provided with an elongated slot 41 near the otherend thereof. An L-shaped pin 42 is secured to the back lid 4 at the freeend of one arm thereof. The other arm of the L-shaped pin 42 is slidablyreceived in the slot 41 of the movable cutting blade 13a. The blades 12aand 13a are urged toward each other by an urging means (not shown) sothat their cutting edges are pressed against each other. The pivot pin40 of the movable blade 13a is positioned slightly above the pivot 3a ofthe back lid 4. When the back lid 4 is swung to be opened about thepivot 3a, the movable blade 13a swings together with the back lid 4 withthe L-shaped pin 42 sliding in the slot 41. When the L-shaped pin 42abuts against the upper end of the slot 41, the back lid 4 cannot swingany more. Accordingly, the opening angle of the back lid 4 can belimited by selecting the length of the slot 41.

The opening angle of the back lid 4 may also be limited by providing astopper for limiting the swing angle of the movable cutting blade on thecamera body.

We claim:
 1. A photographic camera comprising a film magazine receivingchamber formed in the camera body on one side of the film aperture,which chamber has an opening open toward the bottom face of the camerabody and shaped to permit insertion of a film magazine into the chamberonly in one axial direction of the film magazine, film leader guidingmeans for guiding the leader of the magazine to extend in a properdirection when the magazine is inserted into the chamber, film leadercutting means disposed on the side of the film aperture opposite to thefilm magazine receiving chamber, and a back lid which can be openedthrough a limited opening angle to expose said opening of the filmmagazine receiving chamber, said back being mounted to swing about anaxis extending along an upper transverse edge of the camera body; saidcutting means comprising a cutting blade fixed on the camera body and amovable cutting blade movable with the back lid, the fixed and movableblades being positioned to cooperate with each other to cut the filmleader when the back lid is closed, said movable cutting blade beingswingably mounted on the camera body at one end, and connected to theback lid at the other end in a manner which limits the angle of theswinging movement of the movable cutting blade, thereby limiting theopening angle of the back lid.
 2. A photographic camera as defined inclaim 1 in which said other end of the movable cutting blade isconnected to the back lid by means of an engaging pin which is fixed tothe back lid and is slidably inserted into an elongated slot formed insaid other end of the movable cutting blade, the swinging movement ofthe movable cutting blade being limited by engagement of said pinabutting against one extremity of the elongated slot.